Provisions in the Connecticut Comprehensive Energy Strategy that would drastically limit the number of solar systems people and businesses can put on their roofs and could change the payment structure for excess electricity those systems generate have riled the state’s solar industry and those who support it.
Dan Esty
Posted inCT Viewpoints
CBIA paddling against the current on climate change
The fall meeting of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s Energy and Environment Council features a keynote address by Yale professor and former DEEP Commissioner Dan Esty, sharing “his insider’s perspective on where climate policy is headed.” The event will also include a tour of Wallingford-based Proton Onsite, a global leader in gas generation and renewable energy storage. So why does the promotional description of the event in CBIA’s recent newsletter call for a reconsideration of Connecticut’s existing commitments to climate protection?
Posted inEnergy & Environment
CT environmental community watches as Klee takes helm of DEEP
“How is he going to operate in the political arena?” the advocate asked rhetorically about Robert Klee, new commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. “It’s THE question.”
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
DEEP’s new boss has a Ph.D. in trash
Robert Klee, 39, is the mild-mannered protégé of the hard-charging mentor he will succeed, Daniel C. Esty. He is set to take over one of state government’s highest-profile agencies and brings to the commissioner’s office a varied background in environment law, science and public policy. Klee is a man who can wax rhapsodic about “transformative efforts on waste.”
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
Top aide to succeed Esty at DEEP
Robert Klee, a Yale-educated environmental lawyer and policy expert now serving as chief of staff to Commissioner Daniel C. Esty, will succeed Esty as the leader of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, sources say.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
As Esty exits, some worry, some hope
In fact many are concerned about his departure, worrying that no successor will have the breadth of expertise Esty had across energy and environmental subjects, and some fear a backsliding, especially in regional energy initiatives.
Posted inEducation, Politics
Connecticut school segregation, education funding and Tom Foley
Is breaking the link between race, poverty, housing and school segregation an intractable problem in Connecticut? Judging from our recent stories by education reporter Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, it would seem so.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Renewable and clean energy surges in Connecticut
Bridgeport — There’s little to suggest that the five large, white-painted steel boxes and a collection of pipes near the railroad tracks was one of the most astonishing developments in clean energy in Connecticut in 2013. The only hint are these words lettered on each box: FuelCell Energy –- Ultra-clean, Efficient, Reliable Power.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
New England governors sign energy agreement
Representatives of consumers and New England’s largest utility reacted with cautious optimism Friday to a pact announced Thursday night that commits the governors of Connecticut and five other states to expand gas and electric transmission lines, without endorsing any specific project.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
New CT customers to pick up most of tab for natural gas conversions
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority Friday signed off on the final version of a plan to convert 280,000 homes and businesses to natural gas heat from oil and other fuels over the next 10 years. The gas conversion plan is the cornerstone of the state’s Comprehensive Energy Strategy unveiled just over a year ago and officially approved by the legislature in the last session.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Connecticut EV buyers — Malloy has a deal for you
Hartford — If all it takes to get you into an electric vehicle is a reliable network of charging stations, then Gov. Dannel P. Malloy opened the Connecticut International Auto Show Friday with a pitch that may sell some cars in 2014. Yes, the administration is promising an end to range anxiety.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Esty makes renewable choices: Maine wind, CT sunshine
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Friday his administration is delivering on a promise to procure clean energy at competitive prices as it announced deals with developers of a new wind farm in Maine and a solar project in eastern Connecticut.
Posted inMoney
State’s energy efficiency plan comes with higher customer fees
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s release of the state’s first long-term energy efficiency strategy is receiving widespread praise from environmental groups. And that’s even with proposed increases to ratepayer fees to fund it.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Outcry over Esty chat with utility investors delays Senate vote
The state Senate postponed a vote on a renewable energy bill Wednesday after environmentalists raised questions about the propriety of Connecticut’s top energy official discussing the measure Tuesday in a wide-ranging conference call with stock analysts and investors.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
Last-day legislative drama centers on Haddam land swap
With no major legislation remaining, the General Assembly was free today to mull and eventually approve the contentious Haddam land swap, one of the intensely personal issues, favors and grievances that add drama to the frenetic last day of every annual session. Bills are held to the last day for myriad reasons, often having nothing […]